Fragrant food...Malaysian curry

I am discovering a lot of new flavours and foods at the moment.  And the more I eat fresh or freshly prepared meals, the more I crave these.  Putting together different herbs, spices and other ingredients and eating fragrant, flavoursome food at the end of it is just pure joy!  Who would have thought that healthy food can taste so good?

Malaysian curry

I found this Malaysian curry recipe which is bursting with flavour and is really simple to make.  Apart from the lemongrass the ingredients were easily available at my small local supermarket - they did have lemongrass paste which I used instead of the fresh stuff and it worked fine.  Anyway, I hope you will be able to find the ingredients easily because this dish is just so well worth making!

I love how versatile it is - I had the curry with tofu but you can use chicken, prawns, just vegetables...your choice!  And instead of rice, noodles would also be great.  Oh, and why not make double the spice paste and freeze half of it in an ice cube tray for another day?  That way you can serve up a yummy and healthy meal in no time.

Have a lovely, healthy weekend!

PS:  I had lots more sauce than the picture shows :-)

Malaysian curry (serves 4)

For the spice paste

25g fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped2 lemongrass stalks (or 3 tsp lemongrass paste) 
1 - 2 red chillies (depending on how spicy you like your food)
1 onion
2 garlic cloves 
1 tsp turmeric powder 
pinch of salt 
2 tbsp vegetable oil

For the sauce

• 400ml coconut milk (I used half-fat which worked well)
• 200ml vegetable stock
• a little vegetable oil for frying
• 300g tofu, cut to 2.5cm squares, dried on kitchen paper - or use chicken breast, prawns,...
• 200g mushrooms, sliced - you can use other vegetables if you don't like mushrooms...how about bell peppers?

• a large handful of sugar snap peas or mange tout, blanched, cut in half lengthways (see above - just use what you like & have to hand)

To serve

• noodles or rice, cooked according to packet instructions
• a handful of fresh coriander/cilantro
• lime wedges (would definitely recommend squeezing some lime or lemon juice on top - it brings out all the flavours)
• crushed peanuts (I didn't have any but I am sure it would add a lovely crunch)

Method:

1. For the spice paste, place all of the spice paste ingredients into a food processor and blend to a pulp until you get a loose paste.
2. Place a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the spice paste and fry gently for 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the coconut milk and vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for a further five minutes.
4. In a separate pan, fry the tofu (or chicken, prawns etc) and add the vegetables (mushrooms etc).  Fry until cooked , then combine the sauce and tofu/vegetable mix in one pan and continue to simmer for a few minutes. 
5. To serve, spoon the rice or noodles into bowls and top with the curry.  Garnish each with fresh coriander leaves, lime wedges and crushed peanuts, to taste.
    
    
   (recipe from BBC Good Food)